Mixing faucet



May 10, 1949. c. v. D] PIETRO MIXING FAUCET 2 Shets-Sheefl OriginalFiled Oct; 17,.1942

0 im WW m n M W 0 ha m A E W R A .c Q10 y 1949- c. v. Dl PIETRO Re.23,109

MIXING FAUCET Original Filed Oct. 1'7, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.CARMELO V [)1 Pwmo Attorney Reissued May 10, 1949 MIXING FAUCET CarmeloV. Di Pietro, Birmingham, Mich.

Original No. 2,401,914, dated June 11, 1946, Serial No. 462,439, October17, 1942. Application for reissue June 7, 1947, Serial No. 753,288

11 Claims.

This invention relates to faucets and more particularly to mixingfaucets for dispensing beverages.

An object of the invention is to provide a mixing faucet for dispensinga beverage consisting of plain or carbonated water and a syrup thatretains the maximum palatable characteristics.

Another object of the invention is to provide a faucet through whichwater and syrup will flow and be mixed at the outlet end of the nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sanitary faucet fordispensing a beverage consisting of water and. syrup.

Another object of the invention is to provide a faucet that will reducethe pressure of water passing therethrough to substantially gravity flowat the outlet end of the nozzle where it mixes with syrup.

Another object of the invention is to provide a faucet through whichwater and syrup flow in separate paths to a point outside of or adjacentthe end of the nozzle.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part ofthe specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a beverage dispensing systemincorporating the invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational View of a faucet incorporating the invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the faucet taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the flow control portion ofthe faucet, partly broken away.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 and broken away to show thepassages in the control portion of the faucet.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the flow control portion of thefaucet taken on line B--6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view through the flow control portion of thefaucet taken on line 11 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the faucet taken on line 88 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the tumbler portion of the faucet,

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the stationary valve element.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the nozzle portion of a faucet showing amodified form of the invention.

The faucet 10, forming the subject matter of the invention, is shown aspart of a dispensing system for beverages consisting of syrup and eitherplain or carbonated water. Carbonator II is connected with a source ofcarbon dioxide gas 14 by conduit l5 and with a source of water l2 byconduit l3. The water and gas sources are under pressure and are mixedupon entering the carbonator. Conduit It connects the storage portion ofthe carbonator with the faucet and conduit l1 connects the faucet with asource of syrup [8. The syrup is held under pressure by the carbondioxide gas through means of conduit I9 leading from conduit l5 to thesyrup storage source I8.

The faucet has a body 20 to the outlet end of which is aflixed adispensing nozzle 2| and separate passages extend through the body forreceiving the flow of water and syrup from their sources of supply. Thebody has a suitable bracket 22 fixed thereto for connecting it to adispensing station, such as a fountain, and the flow through thepassages is controlled by valve means actuated by arm 23.

The body is formed with a recess 24 in which the valve means is locatedand the valve means is retained in the recess by screw plug25. The valvemeans consist of a hexagonal member 26, formed of leather or somematerial suitable for also acting as a gasket, and tumbler 21 in theform of a disk. The gasket is held from rotating due to its form and thetumbler is rotatable in the body recess. Shank 28 of the control armlies adjacent the tumbler and carries a bearing plate 29 against whichthe screw plug is engaged to retain the arm shank and valve members inleak-proof positions. Shank 28 has a lug 30 engaging in recess 31 in theperiphery of the tumbler so that operation of the arm will cause thetumbler to move therewith.

The passage for water in the body connects with the recess and has anangularly extending inlet portion 32 and an angularly extending outletportion 33'. The passage for the syrup in the body also connects withthe recess and has an angularly extending inlet portion 34 and anangularly extending outlet portion 35. Conduit I6 is connected with thefaucet body in communication with the water inlet passage portion 32 andextends through a fitting 36 that screws into the body. Conduit I1 issecured to the fitting and opens into chamber 31 in communication withthe syrup passage inlet portion 34 in the body.

The valve member 26 has passages 38, 39, 40, and 4| therethrough.Passage 38 is in open communication with the water inlet passage portion32 in the nd. passage this. in open communicatio'm with the water outletpassage portion 33 in the body. Passage 4!) is in open communicationwith the syrup inlet passage portion;

34 in the body and passage 4| is in open. com.- munication with thesyrup outlet passage portion 35 in the body. The tumbler is formed;with. angularly extending passages 43 and, 42, the latter beingshiftable to connect or shut off passages 38 and 39 and passage 13beingshiitable to connect or shut off passages 40 and 4 I. Swinging ofarm 23 will rotate the tumbler sothatxpassages 42 and 43 will be. placedinto or out of registratiomwitn he passages; in. member 2.6; o allow orshut off flow of syrup and water through the faucet.

Referring now to... the faucet. shown Fig. 3, the nozzle is screwed intoflange at the outlet end or the-body against.- thenerinheral. portion ofa dimmer at. Eixedin the recessed end of, the body above the diffuser isdish 52.- havins holes 53 therethroughadiacentuthehub portion.45.. Waterflows from passage 33; into. the recess; and from there through: holes5,3- to. the difliuser. The difi'user is in the term. at adisk and ismade of porous flexible material such. as. rubber- The pores extend in.an. axial direction through the disk and are very smallfomung a. largenumber of passages. through the water must flow to enter the. nozzle.The pressure. of the water when released by thevalve means in the bodywill expandthe passages in thedifiuser to some extent, but in any eventthe di'fi'us'r Will nflateriallyreduce the water pressure and velocitybefore. it. enters, the nozzle sdjthat it. will now very slowlythrough'thenozzle. The. velocity reduction lessens agitation of the.beverage. flowing into the receiving receptacle so that the, gas doesnot become. liberated'and maximum carbon dioxide gas will remain in thewater. 'lhli's.v the mixed drink will be highlytcharged with the gas so,that a very palatable drink will be drawn. The diffuser is of acharacter such that. it serves as. a filter for the water flowing.therethrough.

A baflle 54 is arranged to'dir'ect thjelow pressure water flowingthrough the diffuser to the inner wall of the. nozzle. The water sodeflected will hug the wall of the nozzle in its flow from the diffuserto the outlet end.-

The difluserand the same are both secured to the tube 55 to provide-astructure that can be readily attached to or removed from the body. Thetube is threaded and screws into a sleeve 58 screwed into the syruppassage outlet portion 35 in the body. The central aperture in thediffuser can be o'f smaller diameterthan the tube so that it can bestretched tobe assembled on or removed from the tube, and will thus besel'fretaining on the tube when released. The ballle hub portion 56surround's'the tube adjacent the diifuserv and a nut 51 is screwedon-the-tube to press the bafile into engagement with the difluser andthe diffuser into engagement with the hub 45 ofdisk 32. The

nut can be adjusted to squeeze the difiuser and thus change the porouscharacteristics of the dilfuser so that the resistance offered therebyto water flow therethrough can be regulated. In this manner the velocityof the water passing from the diffuser into the nozzle can be regulatedto suit various types of beverages.

As shown in Fig. 3, the tube extends axially through the nozzle to apoint adjacent the outlet end thereof and can have radially extendingoutlet openings 59 in the tip portion 60. The syrup will spray into thewater flowing down the nozzle and will mix therewithat the outlet end ofthe nozzle without contacting; the interior wall of the nozzle, Becauseof the separate passages and the tube arrangement in the nozzle, thesyrup and water Will flow substantially through the faucet withoutmixing. The distance the syrup outlet openings in the tube are from theoutlet end of the nozzle determines the extent of agitation of themixture, but any event the water flowing down the wall of the nozzlewill prevent the syrup from remaining in the nozzle when the valve meansis closed. The foam in the beverage depends on the amount of agitationso the syrup outlet. openings in the. tube can be arranged to suit. themixture being;

The faucet parts are assembled and related so that they can be readilytalgen apart and cleaned. h s up will be condue edthr us he nozzle d ace body o thatbaete ia. form ion is substantially el minated- The.drinks spense b the fauce will. have u wil ng. ropor of water an syrup,and w l be highly harg with gas so that the drink will have maximumpalatability.

In the form of the invention shown. in Fig. 11, the difiuser is formedof'a sponge rubber disk 70 having communicating cells therein throughwhich the water flows in passing from the body to the nozzle.Hardnon-porous rubber disks H and 12 are vulcanized, or otherwise fixed,to the top and bottom surfaces of the sponge rubber disk. The outlet endof the body has an interior flange 74 against which the top: disk isclamped by the nozzle when screwed into. the body. The syrup tube 55passes through the diffuser and disks H and 12 and screws into sleeve58, as previously described. Water passage 33, opens into a recess inthe bodyabove flange 14 and the. disk 12. and diffuser fit looselyaround the tube so that water can flow along the tube to the interior ofthe diffuser and radially therethrough onto the inner adjacent wall ofthe, nozzle. The deflector will not be necessary in this; structure. Aflexible disk 15 on the tube engages; disk H and nut 15 is. screwed onthe tube to. cause 15 to regulate the compression of the sponge rubberdifiuser. The character of the cell structure of the diffuser can thusbe. regulated as. desired to control the velocity of the water flowingtherethrough to suit beverage requirements.

As previously explained, the tube in Fig. 3 has radially extendingoutlet openings to. cause desired agitation and mixture adjacent theoutlet end of the nozzle. In Fig. 11 the syrup flows straight throughthe end of the tube and will not mix with the water until after itpasses out of the nozzle, this form of tube outlet being preferred whenminimum agitation producting foam is desired in the dispensed beverage.

The water flow through the valve means is best shown in Figs. 4 and, 6while the syrup fiow through the valvev means is best shown in Figs. 5and 7. The valve means is preferably constructed so that the water willflow through the body slightly before the syrup can flow and slightlyafter the syrup has been shut off. As the tumbler is turned from offposition toward open position, or from open position to closed position,passage 38 is open to passages 32 and 42 slightly before passage 40communicates with passages 34 and 43 and slightly after such passagesare closed. This condition is desirable because the difiuser delays thewater flow and also because it is generally desirable to have the waterflowing before and after the syrup. When water is in the receptaclebefore the syrup, there is less agitation and consequent release ofcarbon dioxide gas. With the water flow through the nozzle after thesyrup flow has stopped, the syrup that may be in the nozzle is washedout. Plug 80 is arranged in passage 35 to control syrup flow rate, thediameter of orifice 8| being of a diameter to suit the proportion ofsyrup to water desired in the beverage.

What I claim is:

1. A faucet for dispensing water under pressure comprising a body havinga valved passage therethrough, an outlet nozzle on the body incommunication with the outlet end of the passage, a porous flexiblemember through which the water passes in flowing from the body to thenozzle, and means for adjusting the porosity characteristics of saidmember thereby regulating the velocity of the water passing into thenozzle.

2. A faucet for dispensing water under pressure comprising a body havinga valved passage therethrough, an outlet nozzle fixed to the body incommunication with the outlet end of the passage, a porous rubber memberthrough which water flows from the passage to the nozzle, and means forsqueezing the rubber member to regulate the porosity thereof whereby thevelocity of water flow into the nozzle can be regulated.

3. A faucet for dispensing a liquid flowing thereto under pressurecomprising a body having a passage through which the liquid passes, avalve in the body controlling flow through the passage, and an elasticdiffuser means in the body passage between the outlet end and the valvehaving a multiplicity of normally contracted passages therethroughexpansible under fluid pressure when the valve is open, the resistanceof said diffuser materially reducing the velocity of the water passingtherethrough.

i. In a faucet for dispensing carbonated water under relatively highpressure, a body having a passage through which the carbonated waterflows when being dispensed, and a diffuser in the passage having amultiplicity of normally contracted passages therein through which thecarbonated water flows, said diffuser reducing the water pressure tosuch an extent that it flows by gravity therefrom.

5. A faucet for dispensing carbonated water flowing thereto underpressure comprising a body having a passage connected with thecarbonated water, and an elastic porous diffuser at the outlet end ofthe passage, the pores in said diffuser being normally contracted andexpanding under pressure of the water passing therethrough to reduce thepressure of the water without agitation.

6. A faucet for dispensing carbonated water stored under pressurecomprising a body having a passage connected with the carbonated Water,an outlet nozzle secured to the body in overlying relation with theoutlet end of the passage, and a porous rubber diffuser member securedin overlying relation with the outlet end of the passage in the body,the pores in said difiuser member being normally contracted andexpanding a limited extent under pressure of the water flowingtherethrough from the body passage to materially reduce the waterpressure without agitation.

'7. In a faucet having a, body with separated passages therethrough forwater and syrup under pressure and a nozzle fixed to the body incommunication with the passages, flow control means comprising a porousdiffuser disk in the nozzle covering the outlet end of the water passagein the body, a tube extending through the disk and secured to the bodyin communication with the syrup passage, and a bafli-e secured on thetube and engaging the disk to clamp it against the body, said bafliedirecting the water flowing through the disk toward the inner face ofthe nozzle.

8. In a faucet having a body with a pair of passages therein connectedone with a carbonated water supply and the other with a syrup source anda nozzle enclosing the outlet ends of the passages, flow control meanscomprising a ring of porous sponge rubber overlying the outlet end ofthe water passage in the body and of slightly less diameter than thenozzle, a tube extending through the ring and fixed to the body incommunication with the syrup passage, the diameter of the hole in thering being larger than the tube diameter, means sealing the end of thering remote from the body, and means securing the ring axially on thetube in close proximity to the body.

9. A faucet for dispensing a liquid flowing thereto under pressurecomprising a body having a passage therein, a nozzle fixed to the bodyin communication with the outlet end of the passage, and a, spongerubber diffuser through the pores of which liquid must flow from thebody passage into the nozzle, the pores in said diffuser being normallycontracted and expanding under the pressure of liquid flowingtherethrough.

10. In a beverage dispensing device of the character described a faucetcomprising an inletmember, a nozzle portion having a discharge orificeand a valve body interconnecting said inlet member and said nozzle, ashutter valve rotatably mounted in said valve body and adapted to bemoved to open or closed position, said shutter valve having a firstinlet port, a first outlet port and a first passageway interconnectingsaid first inlet and outlet ports, a second inlet port, a second outletport and a second passageway interconnecting said second inlet andoutlet ports, said passageways being disposed in different planes in theshutter valve a first passageway in said inlet member for the feeding ofcharged water under pressure directly from its source, said last namedfirst passageway communicating directly with said first inlet port whenthe said shutter valve is in open position, a, second passageway in saidinlet member for feeding syrup under pressure directly from its source,said last named second passageway communicating directly with saidsecond inlet port when said shutter valve is in open position, a firstpassageway in said nozzle portion communicating directly with said firstoutlet port and said discharge orifice when said shutter valve is inopen position, and a second passageway in said nozzle portioncommunicating directly with said second outlet port and with saiddischarge orifice when said shutter valve is in open position wherebycharged water and syrup may flow simultaneously into a tumbler directlyfrom their independent sources through said discharge orifice,

same

7 and means for selectively moving said shutter valve to open or closedposition.

11. A faucet according to claim 10 in which there is, provided a tube,said tube being disp sed axially of said discharge orifice andcommunicating directly with the said second passageway for leading thesyrup from said second outlet port, and means for mounting said tube onsaid nozzle portion, said tube being externally threaded. and

a name member threadedly mounted on said tube; to p event undesired spling of the charged water through the said orifice. the said vbafflebeing movableon said'tube to regulate the pressure of said charged wateras it is discharged through said orifioe.

CARMELO V. DI PIETRO.

No references cited.

